A vehicular notification control apparatus is linked to various systems installed to a vehicle and controls a display to display an image corresponding to a control state of the systems. When the vehicular notification control apparatus accepts a driver's instruction operation for a system linked to the vehicular notification control apparatus, the vehicular notification control apparatus displays an image showing a result of processing in response to the operation on the display. For example, when a driver inputs an instruction for an operation to change a set temperature of an air-conditioning system, the air-conditioning system changes the set temperature to a control target value according to the operation while the vehicular notification control apparatus displays a newly-set present set temperature on the display.
Patent Literature 1 discloses a vehicular notification control apparatus capable of displaying multiple types of information simultaneously on a display (referred to as a driver display) such as a meter display, disposed in the sight of a driver facing in a front direction of a vehicle, which the driver is driving. Information displayed on the driver display includes, in addition to information indicating a vehicle state such as a travel speed, a peripheral map image near a present location provided by a navigation system, a set temperature of an air-conditioning system, and a title of a song an audio system is playing.
According to the vehicular notification control apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the driver looking ahead of the vehicle is able to see various types of information displayed on the driver display by shifting his/her eyes less than before.
Recently, further, according to a technique disclosed (see, for example, Patent Literature 2), a portable terminal such as a smartphone is connected to a vehicular notification control apparatus by short range wireless communication or by cable, and an image displayed on a display of the portable terminal is sent to the vehicular notification control apparatus, so that an image generated in the portable terminal is displayed on a vehicle onboard display.
An inventor of the present application has found the following about a vehicular notification control apparatus and a vehicular notification control system.
It is not necessarily a driver making an operation to change a control state of a system linked to the vehicular notification control apparatus. For example, an occupant other than a driver, such as an occupant seated on a front passenger's seat may change the set temperature of the air-conditioning system, adjust a playing volume of an audio device, or zoom in or out a displayed map image. When an operation made by the occupant other than the driver includes a control content that should be notified to the driver via the driver display, an image displayed on the driver display is changed in response to an operation by the occupant other than the driver.
In this case, a display screen of the driver display changes too sudden for the driver. The driver may have an uncomfortable feeling or become distracted by a change of the display screen. In other words, an operation by the occupant other than the driver may prevent a drive operation by the driver.
Also, the sound output device may output a sound in response to an operation made by the occupant other than the driver. In such a case, a sound is outputted unexpectedly for the driver. The driver may be bothered. Hence, an operation for the sound output device by the occupant other than the drive also may prevent a drive operation by the driver.
An input device via which the occupant other than the driver inputs an instruction such as a change of a set temperature of the air-conditioning system can adopt, for example, a switch group provided to an instrument panel. Alternatively, a portable terminal communicating with the vehicular notification control apparatus in two ways may be used as an input device via which an instruction is inputted to a system linked to the vehicular notification control apparatus.